A Short Local Forest Ride For Your Kids Who Ride at Different Speeds

The Seymour Demonstration Forest—now officially part of the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve—is one of the North Shore places where we ride with kids. The appeal is easy to understand once you’re there: a paved trailway winding between trees, with the feel of a forest outing and no regular car traffic. You’ll still share the trail with walkers, other cyclists, and occasional service vehicles, so it’s a place to ride together and pay attention, not a place for a race. Metro Vancouver, Let’s Go Biking

Take the Trailway, then choose your turnaround

Start at the main Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve parking area at the end of Lillooet Road, near Rice Lake Gate. There are washrooms at the start. From there, follow signs for the Seymour Valley Trailway. Metro Vancouver identifies it as the reserve’s paved cycling route; its trail map shows the route and facilities. Metro Vancouver directions

You don’t need to ride to Seymour Dam. That’s roughly an 11 km trip each way and a different proposition for a child who is still building confidence. For a first family visit, try riding one or two kilometres into the forest, stopping for a snack, and coming back the same way. That makes a roughly two to four kilometre ride, depending on where you turn around. It’s a suggested plan, not a marked family loop. The paved surface takes trail bumps out of the equation, but the Trailway has rolling hills, so leave something in the tank for the return. Let’s Go Biking, Vancouver’s Best Places

Make the ride work for both siblings

Let the newer rider choose a pace they can hold. Give the faster rider a clear rule before you start: ride only to the next agreed stopping point, then wait with you. Pick a point you can see, rather than sending a child ahead around a bend.

That changes the conversation from “slow down” every few minutes to “we’ll meet at that point.” The keen rider gets stretches of riding; the cautious rider gets space to handle the hills without an audience at their back. When you stop, ask both kids whether they have enough energy to ride the same distance home. Their answer is more useful than a target on your phone.

If everyone is enjoying themselves, keep going to another agreed stopping point. If one child has had enough, turn around. That’s the advantage of this ride: you can get the forest experience without committing the whole family to the dam.

Know which path you’re on

The reserve has paved riding, gravel routes, and mountain bike trails. They are different rides for different skills. Stay on the signed Trailway for this outing, and don’t mistake the nearby Rice Lake Loop for a cycling option—Metro Vancouver does not permit bikes around the lake. Its service road near Rice Lake Gate is also closed to the public. Metro Vancouver

Before you leave, check Metro Vancouver’s current notices and gate hours. Work elsewhere in the reserve can close connectors or change access, and vehicles must be out of the lower Lillooet Road gate by the posted closing time.

A short ride here gives kids room to enjoy the trees, get comfortable on their bikes, and finish wanting to come back. We ride in the Demo Forest with kids, and we know that the right outing depends on the riders you’re bringing. If your siblings are at different stages, tell us what each child is comfortable with—we can help you choose a North Shore camp that fits them both.